Half of Canadians think Quebec takes more than it gives: poll

The French-English divide is still feeding a “friendly and frosty factor” between the provinces, a new study released Thursday says.

The study, by the Angus Reid Institute, found half of Canadians (53 per cent), including one-in-five Quebecers themselves (21 per cent), said Quebec takes more from Canada than it offers in return.

Meanwhile, one-in-three Canadians (32 per cent) said Alberta gives more than it receives as a part of confederation.

“This refrain has been echoed loudly in the most recent oil slump, with many in Alberta requesting the government do more to help those suffering as one of Canada’s key economic engine sputters,” Angus Reid reported.

However, the West was not found to be a unified front when it comes to inter-provincial grievances and ambivalence.

Alberta and Saskatchewan residents reported feeling a kinship with each other and Manitoba, but B.C. “appears relatively isolated in the federation of Canadian provinces.”

Four-in-ten (43 per cent) of British Columbians said their province “doesn’t have any especially close relationships” with other provinces.

“The outlier in among the four westernmost provinces is British Columbia,” the study reported. “The relationship is not nearly as strong, regardless of whether one is looking from the perspective of B.C. residents, or gauging opinions of that province drawn from the Prairies.”

In central Canada, four-in-ten Quebecers (44 per cent) said they have affection for Ontario, but just one-in-ten Ontario residents (12 per cent) said they feel the same way about Quebec.

The study is the second in a four-part series exploring and measuring the nature and dynamics of Western Canadian identity.